A Lemon Experiment

Hey space turtles! Truly into the summer nails now which I suppose makes sense since it's June already! I recently saw alekto.art on Instagram do some freehand lemons over lilac and it looked really cute so I thought I'd give it a go using the lemons image on my WhatsUp Nails Summer Seeds stamping plate. The idea of the yellow accent nail was inspired by some nail art by naileenj which I recreated a while ago (originally in pink) and it obviously stayed in my mind!

I created decals on my Uber Mat for the lemon images and once applied I finished the look with a matte top coat. I really like the look but do wonder if the shades I used where a little too bright as they didn't work as well as the art by alekto.art. I'd say they're still pretty good though :)

Colours used: Seven Dials - Nails Inc, Wardour Street - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Key Lime - Barry M

Strawberry Reflections

Hey space turtles! I'm launching straight into Spring with some nails which are actually quite summery! I have loved this winter so I'm sad to see it go but Spring brings new opportunities too (and lots of gardening unfortunately!). I was inspired by Kim Sorta Nailed It on Instagram to use this reflective red nail polish for strawberry nail art (colours listed below the pictures).

I started with a peel off base and then two coats of red reflective glitter. I almost only needed one coat as it's so rich and opaque - such a beautiful nail polish! Next I used a nail art brush to add leaves in green nail polish. Once done I added the little seeds in yellow. I would have probably done the seeds in black so I'm glad I had the inspiration pictures to try it in yellow for a brighter look. I really like the way these work with my shorter nails and I think it's a fun look. They're not perfectly neat but you can certainly tell what they are and I love the sparkle!

Colours used: Burning Bright - Emily de Molly, Spring Green - Barry M, Notting Hill - Nails Inc

Pow! Fruit Nails!

Hello space turtles :) I wasn't going to but I've decided to do the Glam Nails Challenge again this month as there were so many themes I was thinking of doing anyway. I will be very behind for at least the first few though as there's so much on at the moment! The first prompt for July is fruit. I thought I'd use this opportunity to use my WhatsUp Nails Summer Seeds stamping plate for the first time and also to use some bright colours again as I've still been veering towards darker ones even though it's now July!

I started with two coats of a variety of neon polishes (colours listed below images) in a sort of skittle mani effect. While the base was drying I created decals on my Uber Mat for the fruit and planned which nails each fruit would go on. I really love the banana nail and am tempted to try it out across all nails with different coloured backgrounds Andy Warhol style. After applying my glossy top coat I decided to try it matte which I think I prefer for this look as it helps the colours pop, you can see pictures with matte and glossy top coats below. Let me know which you like best!

I like these, which I'm pleased about as I wasn't sure if they'd be a bit too garish with all the neon colours and bright fruit. The lemon and banana nails are my faves. The lemon image is the reason I bought this plate so perhaps it's not surprising!

Colours used: Peachy Beachy, Bikini Bombshell, Down At The Deepend, My Mate Illuminate - All Wikkid Polish, Yellow - Barry M, Spring Green - Barry M, Pomegranate - Barry M

A pear of manicures

Hey everyone! Back with this months final Glam Nails Challenge prompt, pears. I quite liked the idea of doing Each Peach Pear Plum (children's book) themed nails as the book has a lovely cover, but that was a little complicated for me so I decided to stick with my trusty Fruit Deco stamping plate from Maniology.

I started with a base of pale pink on my middle two nails, and Polished for Days Soft Focus on my other nails as a base for the glitter. For the glitter nails I used Champagne Diamonds from Cirque Colors which is super sparkly and lovely! While the layers dried I created decals on my Uber Mat using Mo You London's Fall In Love 08 stamping plate. I wanted to get a sort of blossom effect behind the pears but didn't quite have the right image so chose these instead. For once I created this look on both hands! I went to a wedding reception last night so wanted to have my hands co-ordinated and looking good with my dress. After applying the decals I added the layered up pear images and then a shiny topcoat.

I'm happy with how these came out. The floral images I chose were good blossom substitutes I think and the pears are cute. I really enjoyed the glorious glitter too - it's been great using a few from the Facets collection again - they always look good!

Colours used: Champagne Diamonds - Cirque Colors, Pink Lemonade - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Marylebone Road - Nails Inc, Spring Green - Barry M

Jammy Raspberry Nails

Hey everyone! Back again with some more fruit nails for todays Glam Nails Challenge prompt which is raspberry. As with the lime nail art from yesterday I decided the follow a similar pattern, use the same stamping plate (Maniology Fruit Deco) and use one of Cirque Colors Facets collection polishes (this time it's Tourmaline).

I started by applying Tourmaline on three of my nails and white polish on the other two, topped with a shimmery iridescent topper. There was no decal making today as I used layered stamping plate images, using dark pink, green and then black stamping polish for the outline. There is one raspberry image on the stamping plate and I'm not sure I really placed it very well. I think I'd have been better off having just one image per nail at the end as a sort of accent. Still, they're not bad - after all who doesn't like raspberries?!

Colours used: Tourmaline - Cirque Colors, Cream Soda - Barry M, Good Vibes - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Pomegranate - Barry M, Spring Green - Barry M

Papaya Don't Preach

Hello nail enthusiasts! (and anybody else!) Today's Glam Nails Challenge prompt is Papaya - a great theme in my opinion. it's fun and a bit different. I knew when I saw this prompt that I had to do some nail art based on my lovely Chilly's water bottle. It's such a cute design and I love the colours, so I was pleased I have nail polishes which are a very good match!

I started with a base of Nails Inc's Baker Street - an absolute classic! I'm onto my second bottle now but haven't used it for ages so it was good to get it out again. While this was drying I created papaya decals on my Uber Mat, you can see how here. I Used the Tropical 07 stamping plate from Mo You London for the papaya image. It is the only papaya image I have and I think it's pretty good - certainly better than what I'd do freehand! Usually I use a dotting tool when creating decals, but for this one I used a small nail art brush to add the three colours of the papaya - green, yellow then orange (the shade I used is actually called Papaya which is very fitting!).

As you can see for the pictures I decided to pose with my water bottle. The last picture is with a shiny top coat and the rest are matte. I'm really pleased with these, I'm enjoying wearing them and they came out just as planned!

Colours used: Baker Street - Nails Inc, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Key Lime - Barry M, Yellow - Barry M, Papaya - Barry M

It's Wine O'Clock!

Hey everyone, I hope you're enjoying your weekend! Today's Glam Nails Challenge prompt is grapes. I decided to use some images from Uber Chic's Bottoms Up plate, so it made sense to add a wine theme. It was a bit of a make it up as I go kind of look, and I was pleased to see the Bottoms Up plate has more wine themed images that I remembered (it has a variety of of different drinks).

I started with a base of off white and while this dried I created decals on my Uber Mat, you can see how here. I'm pleased with how well the images fit my nails and am enjoying the sparkle in the leaves and grapes. It took some deciding whether to do something more purple or red as I needed it to work for both the grapes and the wine bottle/glasses.

I'm really pleased with how these came out, with the exception of the smudging on the multiple wine glasses nail. Unfortunately I had a moment of madness where I totally forgot I needed to gently float the top coat over the image when making the decals! It's only noticeable close up though.

Colours used: Cream Soda - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Rainbow Connection, Ambrosia - Cirque Colors, Someday - ILNP, Bronze Bae - Barry M

Coconut Cocktail Party

Hey nail people! Got more fruit nails to share today for today's Glam Nails Challenge prompt which is coconuts (I suppose they're technically a nut? They seem like fruit though!). I struggled a little at first to think what to do for coconut nails but then remembered that there is a coconut cocktail image on my Uber Chic Bottoms Up plate and thought that would be perfect - I do enjoy a twist on a theme sometimes! 

I started with a base of off white on my middle two fingernails, and pink glitter on the other three. For the coconut images I used my Uber Mat to create decals, you can see how here. I used a shimmery brown shade which I am so glad I have for moments like this! For the umbrella's I added a bit of extra colour with some neons. The polishes I used are listed below the pictures.

I wasn't sure whether to try and add something to the cocktail nails but I still can't really think what. Spots were an option but I just couldn't think which colour would work next to the sparkly pink nails so I left them as they are! I do still like them though, they're good fun and make me want a pina colada!

Colours used: Love Potion - Fun Lacquer, Cream Soda - Barry M, Taupe Temptation - Painted Polish, Joyful L'il Jellybean - Wikkid Polish, Peachy Beachy - Wikkid Polish, My Mate Illuminate - Wikkid Polish, Bikini Bombshell - Wikkid Polish

Peachy Nails Take Two

Hi everyone! Another late Glam Nails Challenge prompt today, this one is peaches. I had a lovely weekend with my sister visiting so didn't have time to do my nails or blog. it was a great weekend though so I'm happy to be catching up today! For this theme I decided to recreate some peach nails I did in the past with my Nails Inc Kiss My Peach duo. I'm not so good at freehand so it's good to practise and see if I've improved.

I started with a base of pale peach on all nails, and used brighter peach to create a gradient on my index finger, little finger and thumb. On my middle two nails I used the bright peach to add some peach shapes, I created sort of vague heart shapes as this helped me work towards something and stop them being to blobby! I then added some little green leaves using the same brush. Overall I do think they've come out better than my previous ones. I'd like to see what the peaches are like with black outlines but I didn't want to risk messing it up!

Colours used: Peach Tease - Nails Inc, Hot Fuzz - Nails Inc, Key Lime - Barry M

Blueberry Flowers

Hey everyone! The second Glam Nails Challenge prompt this month was blueberries and I've seen some gorgeous designs people have done for it! I was a little unsure what to do at first so was pleased when I discovered my Maniology Fruit Deco plate had a berry image I could use. I decided to go for an abstract sort of look with some pale colours so the blueberries would stand out. 

I started with a base of white (a challenge as my white nail polish is getting quite thick!) and then added a swipe of pale purple and pink nail polish on each nail. After that I used the blueberry image from the Fruit Deco plate on each nail. It's a layered stamping plate so I didn't need to create decals and could just layer up the colours. To finish off the look I used a dotting tool and gold nail polish to add a little extra detail on each nail.

I think the final look is very summery and reminds me of jam jars or some sort of  cottage core fruit packaging! Also looks kind of floral to me, hence the name of this blog post. I used a shiny top coat but might add a bit one just to see how it looks.

Colours used: Floral Street - Nails Inc, Strawberry Ice Cream - Barry M, Berry Ice Cream - Barry M, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend, Indigo - Barry M, Uptown Glamour - Nails Inc

Pinapular Delight

Hey everyone! I'm trying the Glam Nails Challenge on Instagram again this month. All the themes are fruit based which I think it pretty good fun, and some of them are more unusual ones to try too. I was a bit behind with the first one which is pineapples. Pineapple nail art is great and I've had an idea on my to do list for ages so thought I'd give that a go. Ever since I saw Belle of So Hot Right Nail do foil pineapples I knew I needed that super shiny pineapple look!

I started with a base of pale pink on my middle two nails and blue on the others. I added a layer of gold flakie polish over the top to add something extra! I then used the Tropical 07 stamping plate from Mo You London to add pineapples on the middle two nails in black. Once dry I added foil glue over the top of the pineapples, followed by the gold foil then the green foil once the glue was dry. I worked surprisingly well I think and the gaps around the leaves kind of looks like an outline. I used a thin nail art brush and black nail polish to add a bit of detail over the gold. 

So in conclusion I wasn't really expecting this to work but I'm pretty pleased with the outcome! It was never going to be quite as fabulous as the original but I think it went as well as it could! Also to explain the title of this blog post - my boyfriend and I use the word pinapular to describe something pineapple like - I can't think of any examples....

Colours used: My Car Has Navy-gation - OPI, Strawberry Ice Cream - Barry M, Lady In Black - OPI, Black Stamping Polish - Dance Legend

When Life Gives You Lemons Make Nail Art... Again!

I couldn't resist re-using the title for this - what else does one call a lemon themed nail art blog post?! Today's nail art is a fine example of just how much my freehand needs some work - it's always harder than I expect! I was inspired by Naileenj on Instagram and had to give this look a try! I started it on holiday in the North York Moors, sat outside on on a goat farm! I ran out of time to finish it here though so had to do the rest at home, which was probably more practical in the end.

I started with a base of neon pink on all nails except my little fingernail which I painted yellow (all colours listed below the pictures). I planned to use pens to draw onto my nail as I did when following the One Nail To Rule Them All tutorials a while ago, but I couldn't get it to work at all so used a small brush to paint on the lemons, leaves and the outline. They were definitely not as neat as I had envisaged! Still, it was an abstract look I was going for so I suppose it's not too far wrong...

Colours used: Bikini Bombshell - Wikkid Polish, Sunny Days - Rimmel, Key Lime - Barry M, Lady In Black - OPI